American Muslims and their places of worship
(Mosques) have been highly scrutinized since the 9-11 attacks and “War
on Terror”. The mosques are the most important centers in any
Muslim community. From their pulpit (Minbar) are delivered the sermons (khutbah),
arguably the most important weekly address regarding Islam, and around
them the Muslims congregate and organize their affairs. The question
many Muslims ask is what is the role of Mosque (Masjid)?
As the influence of Islam grows the role of the mosque in society should
be understood by all non-Muslims. The Mosque is the most important
institution in Islam after the home and work place. Muslim visits it at
least once, if not three times a day (or five times in Muslim
countries). There, a Muslim rekindles his spirituality,
strengthens his relationship with his Creator, meets his fellow Muslim
brothers/sisters and renews his sense of belonging. The role of the
mosque is not to amass people and make it crowded. It is meant to
encourage people to interact with each other on a basis of love and
cooperation and seeking God’s pleasure. The role of the mosque in
traditional Muslim society is three-fold. The first and primary one
relates to worship, second is a social activity and the third is
political role, but not the sort of role that the Taliban gave it in
Afghanistan or controlled by the governments or kings. The mosque should
be an independent, democratic, religious and social institution and not
a center for increasing religious intolerance and sectarianism. The
biggest responsibilities of the administrators of Mosques in America
today is to eradicate the misconceptions about Islam and to lead
communities out of the depths of Islam phobia and ignorance.
The word mosque is derived from the Arabic word masjid, which literally
means the place of prostration (sujud). This is the position in Islamic
ritual prayers (Salaat), in which the forehead of the worshipper touches
the ground in the supreme act of submission and surrender before God.
Muslims often refer to the mosque by its Arabic name,
masjid. Today, most mosques have elaborate domes, minarets, and prayer
halls. And according to Islamic beliefs, the first mosque in the world
was the Kaaba, which was built by Abraham and assisted by
his son Ismail upon an order from God. The oldest mosque built by
Muslims is the Quba Mosque in Medina. The Mosque symbolizes Islamic
monotheism and the unity of the Muslim Community (ummah). Mosque is
where the call to prayer is made five times a day, the community comes
together in the congregational prayer and all Muslims regardless of
their race, color, social, and economic status stand shoulder to
shoulder before their Lord in response to His call.
Unlike the Middle East where mosques are strictly sites for worship,
mosques in the US play the multi-faceted roles of religious
institutions, welfare organizations, community centers, locations for
voter registration drives, and sites frequented visited by local
political candidates. Mosques during early Islamic history were the
focal point of political, social, and religious activities. The Mosque
is the fortress of faith; home of the pious; the guardian of virtues;
the meeting place of Muslims and the first school from which the Muslim
graduates. The Mosque provides relief and respite to the needy and the
distressed. It is sad and shame to see that mosques are very
male-oriented, under-resources, under-funded, incompetent management and
not hospitable to non-Muslims. We need to overcome these shortcomings to
create a vibrant community with opening doors to non-Muslim interested
in finding about Islam. A mosque is more than a mere place of worship;
it should be like a University with cafeteria, a sports facility and
library with computers and Internet. The mosque should be a place for
social encounter providing opportunities for the elderly and the youth,
supplement secular education classes, should be place for the
solemnization of marriages, conduct funeral rites, organize sporting
events and provide counseling domestic abuses. Mosque is a vital
cornerstone in the building of any Muslim community and it is the
responsibility of the mosque committees, the Imams and the local Muslim
community to ensure that the mosques are always a reflection of Islam.

Opinions
expressed in various sections are the sole responsibility of their authors
and they may not represent ccun.org.